Stairs & Multiple Floors (🎞 Video)

It's easiest to start scanning on the lowest floor and move up. This is not a hard requirement -- you can start scanning anywhere as long as every scan is connected. However, it's just simplest to start at the bottom and work up.

Furthermore, it's easier to place and adjust the tripod when you are moving up the stairs instead of going down the stairs. Take extra care on the stairs so the tripod is stable and won't fall.

Remember, you can set the visitor's Start Position to be anywhere you want after you upload the model. Learn more.

Scan the Staircase

First scan the entire floor.

Then scan at the base of the stairs (spot A in the illustration below).

Straight run (standard) stairs

Stairs with a simple landing

Then, move the tripod up three or four steps. Remember to keep the camera within a line-of-sight from a previous scan (spot B in the illustration).

Keep two tripod legs on the lower step at normal height and shorten the third one as needed. Two legs on the lower steps improves stability.

Scan here and then move the camera up another three or four steps. Repeat until you reach the next floor.

Add New Floor

Once the camera is at the top of the stairs on the next floor (spot C in illustration above), extend all the tripod legs to the normal height.

In the Capture app, touch the Floor 1 button and then Add New Floor.

Enter the name of the floor and tap Create.

When you add a new floor, the preview pane shows up as empty. This is normal — you don't haven any scans on that floor yet.

Tap Back to return to the scanning screen and continue scanning as normal.

Floor names are for your personal use only. Floors are renumbered to Floor 1, Floor 2, etc after you upload.

Floor levels are automatically determined by Matterport after you upload. Learn more. Adding new floors in Capture app is meant to help you scan more efficiently.

Tips

Stairs always belong to the floor below.

Remember to mark any windows and mirrors on the staircase. Learn more.

Sunken living rooms belong to the floor they are closest to. Split levels (levels halfway between two full floors) belong to the floor below.

You can move scans to other floors. From the home screen tap Edit > (tap the scans to move) > Move to Floor > (which floor)

If you want to go back to a previously completed floor and add more scans, tap the Floor menu, the floor name, and then start scanning. This is important since alignment is done on a per-floor basis. Remember that your new scan should be within a line-of-sight of a previous scan.